Keeping warm: Coat drive at Bocker Auto Group makes a difference

When Deb Stukenberg of Freeport won $3,000 from Farm & Fleet in 2008, she decided she wanted to do something good with the money that came her way. Stukenberg and two friends, Cheerie Cregan and Jennifer Gennusa banded together to create Kids Coats and Clothes. Their mission is to provide coats and boots to school children within the Freeport School District.

By Jane Lethlean

Journal Standard

By Jane Lethlean

Posted Dec. 25, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 25, 2010 at 10:50 PM

By Jane Lethlean

Posted Dec. 25, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 25, 2010 at 10:50 PM

Freeport, Ill.

When Deb Stukenberg of Freeport won $3,000 from Farm & Fleet in 2008, she decided she wanted to do something good with the money that came her way. Stukenberg and two friends, Cheerie Cregan and Jennifer Gennusa, banded together to create Kids Coats and Clothes. Their mission is to provide coats and boots to school children within the Freeport School District.

Stukenberg keeps the clothing at the Stewart Centre in Freeport. She works hand-in-hand with the schools, delivering clothing to needy school children when the situation arises.

“There is such a high percentage of poverty at one of our schools and many of these kids do not have a coat or boots to stay warm,” Stukenberg said. “This has been such a bad year and we ran out of coats for the kids.”

Stukenberg contacted George Ritter at Bocker Auto Group. The local auto dealership agreed to have a clothing drive for the children. The drive kicked off right after Thanksgiving. Stukenberg and her friends picked up the clothing Thursday. The three women unloaded the back of a Chevy pickup with the many items into a van, taking the items to their drop off point.

“This is awesome,” Stukenberg said as she looked at all the donated items, “We had such a high demand this year for the coats — they are flying out the door.”

The Giving Spirit

Stukenberg is humble about her local charity. The program is about people helping people.

“This gives our kids hope and a chance to tap into their survival mode,” she said. “Since we started this drive in 2008, we have given out more than 3,000 coats.

“What people don’t realize is we have one school in our district that has an 88 percent poverty rate for their children,” Stukenberg added.

Stukenberg said she and her friends are the “messengers.” Having coats available for the children who need then is “like a big Christmas hug to each child in Freeport.”

“There is a higher power working for us in this giving community and we are only as good as the people behind us,” she said.

Ritter stood back as he watched the many clothing items being taken from the showroom at Bocker Auto Group. Ritter said the local auto dealership is happy to have been a part of the local coat and boot drive. For the past month they have advertised the drop off point. The coats were placed in the back of a pickup with a Christmas tree in the center.

“It feels good for us at Bocker to have been a part of something that gives back to our community,” Ritter said. “This stuff is a big deal to us.”

Stukenberg said they are still looking for more donations of coats and boots for children. People can still donate by taking the clothing items to the lobby at US Bank, downtown in Freeport, which is also the Stewart Center. The bank is located in downtown Freeport.